Notorious New Jersey: 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels

by Jon Blackwell

It's a common complaint in New Jersey: We're not taken seriously. New York City is the place of skyscrapers, glitz, and glamour; New Jersey gets mocked as the land of swamps and malls. But there is one area in which our often-overlooked state deserves to be recognized for total supremacy. It is second to no place for spectacular corruption and crime.

Notorious New Jersey is the definitive guide to murder, mayhem, the mob, and corruption in the Garden State. With tabloid punch, Jon Blackwell tells riveting accounts of Alexander Hamilton falling mortally wounded on the dueling grounds of Weehawken; Dutch Schultz getting pumped full of lead in the men's room of the Palace Chop House in Newark; and a gang of Islamic terrorists in Jersey City mixing the witch's brew of explosives that became the first bomb to rock the World Trade Center. Along with these dramatic stories are tales of lesser-known oddities, such as the nineteenth-century murderer whose skin was turned into leather souvenirs, and the state senator from Jersey City--David Friedland--who faked his death in a scuba accident in the 1970s in an effort to avoid prison. Blackwell also sheds light on some historical whodunits--was Bruno Hauptmann really guilty of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby? Who was behind the anthrax attacks of 2001? And could Jimmy Hoffa's body really be under the end zone at Giants Stadium? Not forgotten either are notorious characters who may actually be innocent, including Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, and those who have never been convicted of wrongdoing although they left office in scandal, including Robert Torricelli and James McGreevey. Through 100 historic true-crime tales that span over 300 years of history, Blackwell shows readers a side of New Jersey that would make even the Sopranos shudder.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

424 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2007

Reviews

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember now why I stopped reading True Crime books. Horrible. Some of these stories made me very upset, like in tears. One of my kids was kind of pressing me on the New Jersey "pride" thing, more like shame, you know, too, but like come on, you could write a book about 100 notorious stories from any state, my kid was saying, but there's something very New Jersey about the New Jersey criminals in here... the ethnic flavor, the role of organized crime and organized labor, the pollution... did you know the graves of the Radium Girls are highly radioactive? That the guys who worked in the asbestos industry called themselves Snowmen because the asbestos all over the clothes and hair looked like snowflakes? As with the industrial environmental crimes, also the rest of the crime in here, it's because New Jersey had it first, you know? Like Arkansas has its polluted hellholes too, but they're more recent. And nowadays, somebody runs amock in the US every couple of days and shoots a bunch of people but wasn't Howard Unruh kind of the first? Aren't all of those "Florida Man" stories on Reddit about people whose families moved down there from Jersey?

I can't help it that a lot of stuff in here made me laugh, though, too. The politician chapter did not dissappoint with the laughs. What a bunch of jerks. Do you remember Abscam? Hilarious in retrospect. Sorry to say that the mobsters made me laugh. I don't romanticize them, but still, they don't call them "wiseguys" for nothing. One judge apparently had to tell a defendant on the stand, "this isn't dial-a-joke." Dial-a-joke, remember that? Yeash. Another thing about the mob guys that made me laugh was that my Dad knew about nearly every one of them. All you had to do was say the Italian or Jewish name and he would come out with the nickname... "Oh yeah, Tony Pro... Richie the Boot, we can drive past his old house if you want... Waxey Gordon is in that book?" that cracked me up too.

I was a little nervous about how some of the race stuff would be covered here but I think it came out OK. I didn't detect any dog whistle stuff. The chapter on Assata Shakur tried to be balanced, and I just don't have any time at all for the cop side of that story, like screw you, my version is, they get pulled over for driving while black, the cops get spooked, no one knows who fired first but in that time in the US I wouldn't fault the BLA members if they did fire first, and anyway the ballistic evidence shows that Assata had her hands up and was shot from behind, so, don't give me that boo hoo poor cops type stuff... but I think even that chapter was well done, so cudos.

[Bob O'G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book in long intervals made for many unpleasant experiences; not because of the writing talent or anything in terms of its production, but because of the sheer onslaught of misery the book conjures up. This cannot be a downfall since the title gives the reader exactly what it says. The sheer amount of major historical crimes and criminals having ties to New Jersey was impressive in all the wrong ways. Jon Blackwell does a good job of dedicating an average of 3 to 4 pages for each tale. His writing was concise, yet informative and never left me bored or cringing. It did leave me wanting more in some cases, but I believe that was the point. That makes this a solid macabre reference book for the many horrors that have taken place in the far too expensive state I currently live in.

[Mark NP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good collection of historic and modern true crime, all with connections to New Jersey. I found the mob stories most interesting, as well as the author's different takes on New Brunswick stories I've written about myself like Bridget Dergan and the Hall-Mills murders. The last chapter was more depressing than entertaining, but otherwise the book was a good read. It took me a long time to read it but I'm not sure why. The writing is concise and the information is interesting.

[Natalie Tort · Rating 1 out of 5]

This concept is interesting but overall it missed the mark for me. Some of the stories were a real stretch to say they were "NJ". But what really turned me off was the use of the word "ret**ded" in 2008.... and more than once, such as in the Glen Ridge football scandal story. Inexcusable.

[Heather Colacurcio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get ready to sleep with the lights on! Blackwell's book recounts 100 true crime stories that took place in the Garden State over the last several centuries. From cold-blooded murder to political crime, this book covers it all. With a few pages devoted to each story, this compulsively readable book should induce sleepless nights in many readers. Further reading on any subject can be found in Blackwell's copious notes in the back of the book. A must-read for those interested in New Jersey history and true crime.

[Katy White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, yet disturbing vignettes. I'm sure most states could have a similar book written about them - however, the impact of some of these individuals is still felt today. Good for anyone who feels that the "good old days" were actually good. They weren't. PS: Aaron Burr was a traitorous [expletive]!

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have basically nothing to do with New Jersey, but I enjoyed this book nonetheless. It's written as a collection of vignettes so it's easy to pick up and put down, and it's all told in a wryly tabloidish style. That said, it's not exactly something you want to sit down and read for any extended period of time.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the short summaries, but the language was a bit flowery. Joked with the wife that if they so much as drove on one of NJ roads, they ended up in here. Liked the history of Vineland though.

[Margaret Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very informative and interesting.

[Laura Cushing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting tales of murder and crime and intrigue in my home state.